Following one of the most abhorrent performances the Toronto Maple Leafs have mustered in a big spot over the past decade — that being Game 4 versus the Boston Bruins this past Saturday — I wrote about the flaw in their team’s top-heavy construction.
That flaw, I noted, wasn’t about what the best version of the Leafs could look like, but rather that you’ll almost never get to see that version for a two-month playoff run. If your whole plan relies on four guys to carry you, you’ll be in trouble when even one of them isn’t 100 per cent, and the odds that four guys will all stay healthy for four rounds of playoff hockey are virtually nil.
BUT.
But, it isn’t impossible they could all be healthy for a bit, and when they are all healthy, the Leafs are a tough team to beat. If that happens now — or at least soon — it could greatly change the immediate results that will inevitably affect the greater potential changes to the organization.
Through five games the Leafs have been denied the opportunity to put their best foot forward, in some part due to bad luck. Now, make no mistake, their showing in Game 4 was a dog’s breakfast, but two things can be true. They’ve played a couple of brutal games, but they also haven’t had the chance to roll out their ‘A’ lineup yet.
If the Leafs fail against the Bruins by losing Game 6 at home Thursday, all the potential outcomes bandied about after Game 4 are still very much on the table. They could fire the coach. They could trade a core player, or even two. Heck, they could replace the team president.
But the flip side of that is if they’re able to prolong their playoffs by winning a hockey game, it’s not hard to see how some positive momentum could build.
Toronto came into the playoffs on the heels of four losses where they chased individual goals and failed. An injured William Nylander missed his first games in years to start the series, returning in Game 4 while looking like a guy whose timing wasn’t exactly Swiss-watch tight.
Auston Matthews got sick before Game 3 and played listless as a result, unable to give them a follow-up performance to his heroic Game 2 effort. If the Leafs are to go on any kind of a run at all, they’re going to need him back. And, as I understand it, that’s not been ruled out just yet. But if Matthews’ return is four days away and not two, the question becomes whether the Leafs can play well enough, long enough to get back to that full form.
The Leafs feel like a team that, the longer they can stay alive, the stronger they should get. They’ve finally made the switch to their better goalie in Joseph Woll, after a run of good play from Ilya Samsonov allowed the team to talk themselves into the guy who won them a playoff round last year.
Ask just about any goaltending analyst and they’ll preach the bonafides of Woll’s game over Samsonov’s. Goalie expert Mike McKenna has been a regular on Real Kyper and Bourne in the past, and has said for two years Woll is the better goalie. Steve Valiquette has come on our show frequently this season, and on his last spot Tuesday he explained how Samsonov played the easier games this year and still fell short of Woll’s results.
Woll’s entrance into the series has worked out well for him. He was able to get in one period of play in Game 4 where he could get used to the feel and pace of the series (and played well), then was dynamite in a 27-save performance in Game 5 (that included two game-saving stops). One would imagine he’s in a good headspace en route to a Game 6 start, and possibly beyond.
The Leafs have also missed a player who became a depth-scoring surprise in the second half, Bobby McMann. McMann scored three in a win in mid-February that kicked off a red-hot run for the team where they won nine of 10. He ended up with 15 goals on the season, 13 of which came in the final two months. McMann is supposed to be back on the ice any day now so, if the Leafs can win a bit, it’s not impossible that he could suit up again this post-season.
The things that everyone holds up about Boston are true. They are well-coached, and that means they’re good at protecting the middle of the ice. They have good goaltending, and by all accounts, good leadership.
But it’s also true that after David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand up front the Bruins are only just OK. And that their depth defencemen are only just OK. And the Leafs, if healthy, should be able to take advantage of some of the matchups further down the lineup, which their lack of health in this series hasn’t allowed them to test.
Nothing that I wrote about the Leafs two days ago is remotely altered by their great showing in Game 5. In a top-heavy plan, it’s nearly impossible to get to see the best version of your team through a long playoff run. In just five games, the Leafs haven’t got to see theirs yet.
But it’s looking possible they could get a pocket of good health, as it feels like the Leafs aren’t week-to-week on their injured guys, they’re day-to-day.
With Woll in net, Nylander finding his timing, Matthews a day-to-day mystery (but possible to play!) and McMann returning to the ice soon, Toronto is close to being able to put its best foot forward.
The Leafs are running out of time, but each win gets them closer to looking like the team they were built to be. As skeptical as I am that it’s possible to rely on the health of four guys for two months, I’m not skeptical it can work when everyone is together.
And that idea doesn’t seem more than days away now.
All fans are left to wonder, and the players and staff are likely wondering themselves: Will the Leafs have time to get there?